Life after the Fall
A lot of times, injuries for hurdlers can be quite calamitous, especially if they occur as the result of a major fall. Fear of the obstacle – which may have not even existed before – may suddenly move to the forefront of one’s consciousness. While all hurdlers know that there are risks involved when deciding to participate in the hurdling events, when the actual fall occurs, the trauma is very real, and the road to recovery is a long and winding one, filled with moments of frustration. The rehab process can be an arduous one, and it’s hard not to wonder if you’ll able be able to get back to doing what you used to do.
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In the past few years, I have witnessed two hurdlers suffer major injuries on the practice track. One was a high school kid on my school team. Though we run the 300m hurdles in our state, we were practicing for a meet that coming weekend that featured the 400m hurdles. So since our track had 400 hurdle marks on it, we set up the first four hurdles on the first curve and backstretch and went to work. On his first or second rep, my kid’s spike got caught in the track as he planted to take off. Because the hurdle was on the curve, he was already at a bit of a twisted angle. The spike getting caught caused a further twist, and he was screaming in agony before he even cleared the hurdle. He continued screaming for the next half an hour. Tests later revealed that he tore his acl and was out for the season.
That happened his junior year. His senior year, he basically ran out of time in trying to come back. He was trying to do workouts wearing a big brace from thigh to shin, and it was just too cumbersome. Between that and senior year blues, he didn’t compete in the hurdles at all his senior year, although he did help in the relays some.
The second hurdler was a professional that I was working with one particular Sunday afternoon just to work on his form. He put a lot of extra effort into his hurdle action, so we were just trying to smooth things out and make things more efficient. He quickly grasped the concepts I presented to him, showed visible improvement, and he and I were both excited.
Just as we were winding things down with a simple side drill over 30 inch hurdles, he landed funny off of one of them, then fell to the ground as if someone had shot him. He too was writhing on the ground, holding his leg, screaming in pain. Because it was a non-school day, we had to call 911 and wait for an ambulance. Turns out he too tore his acl. I have since moved from the area and have lost touch with him, but I don’t think he has returned to form, as his social media posts have mainly to do with coaching youth and high school athletes.
Niklas Rippon, a professional 110 hurdler out of Michigan whom I worked with a few times a few years ago broke his ankle in a race last year, ending his 2016 outdoor season. He is currently on the road to recovery with hopes of competing outdoors in 2017. Every now and then he posts videos of himself lifting weights, sprinting, drilling over 30 inch hurdles. Niklas has an insanely passionate love for the hurdles, and for competing in general, that there is no doubt in my mind that he will return to full strength; it’s just a matter of when.
Two years ago, when Sally Pearson broke her wrist in a very dramatic fall while competing in a Diamond League meet, it ended her bid for a World Championship in 2015. It also ended up being the reason she couldn’t come back to defend her Olympic title. She remains on the road to recovery, with the hope being she can return to prominence in 2017.
My advice to anyone coming back from major injury is to listen to your doctors and follow their instructions. Don’t rush back too soon, no matter how great the temptation to do so, as you can set yourself even further back.
Though I’ve never suffered a major fall that led to a debilitating injury, I did go through the nearly-fatal illness that I was diagnosed with in the fall of my senior year of high school. Upon returning home after three weeks in the hospital, I was eager to get back and make up for all the time I had missed. Being a senior, I didn’t have time to waste. My doctor told me it would be okay to go on walks, maybe do some light jogging, but nothing more. “No hurdles?” I asked. He just laughed. “Definitely no hurdling,” he said.
But I still had the two hurdles in the backyard that I had borrowed from school the previous summer. They were just sitting there, calling my name. What could it hurt to set them up and go over them a few times?
Well “a few times” became ten reps, fifteen reps, twenty reps. I felt like my old self again. Doing what I do. Back where I belong. But afterward my legs ached so badly I could hardly walk. When I lie down for bed that night, I saw that both of my legs below the knee had turned purple. My doctor had warned me that anything more strenuous than light jogging could lead to internal bleeding, with my platelet cell count still being very low. I chose to ignore him, and now I was paying the price.
For the next week, I found myself doubting that I would ever hurdle again. Just walking, just standing was painful. Because I had gone and done too much, now I couldn’t do anything. Finally, after another week, I could walk and jog pain-free. So that’s what I did. I walked and jogged and left the hurdles alone. Not until I was able to run three miles pain-free and fatigue-free did I even try to hurdle again. By then, doing so was more than safe, and I didn’t suffer any more setbacks.
In talking to Niklas, he similarly says that the hardest thing is to not do too much too soon. At a certain point on the road to recovery, the body feels like it is capable of doing more than it is actually capable of doing. That’s the danger zone. That’s when you have to be smart and follow orders.
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